On Sunday, two ravens were seen flying together and later in the day, I noticed a raven mobbing a buzzard over the Galley Hill end of the new heath. As we haven't had any signs that they are nesting on the reserve, this is interesting behaviour at this time. Are they starting to nest later this year...

With the weather a little milder and winter slowly heading towards spring, it's noticeable that the birds are singing again. On just a short walk this morning, song thrush, mistle thrush, great tit and dunnock were all in song and making everything seem cheerier in the slightly gloomy conditions...

The main action on the reserve away from the busy bird feeders has been the regular sightings of a stoat around the Gatehouse. This little creature is often seen whizzing around in pursuit of an unfortunate rabbit - which it invariably catches - and today it charged through the snow and caught another...

We arrived at The Lodge this morning to find much more snow than we expected. It seems that most of the areas south of us had none at all, but I went out with the camera this morning so I have proof of how white it was here!
Although the feeders are busy and bustling with lots of chaffinches, tits...

It's been relatively quiet at The Lodge over the last week, but with strong arctic winds on the way- this may be about to change! Just a few redpolls have been reported recently, but numbers of siskins, usually here in good numbers, are virtually non- existent this year. Likewise for bramblings and...

This will be my last post until 2015, as I'm heading away for Christmas and New Year on a birding trip to Kerala in South India. I'm looking forward to seeing plenty of new and colorful birds to add to my life list!
My colleagues will add any sightings of note to this page while I'm away...

I've mentioned before the work we are doing to encourage farmland birds, by planting seed crops on Sandy heath, the land we manage across the road from The Lodge. Over the last few months, we've seen up to seven stonechats and then a couple of whinchats arrived during autumn migration. There...

It's not quite up to the standards of the bad weather recently seen in America, but at least we've had a touch of winter over the last couple of days. It's been lovely to see the sun giving a golden haze over the reserve after a frosty morning- and with some cracking sunsets as well. Numbers...

These lovely photos were taken by one of our gardeners, Nick, showing the Azalea walk at The Lodge gardens.The gardeners have been busy removing invasive plants over the winter to reveal the choice varieties that were planted in the early 1900s. It's a great time of year to see Rhododendrons and...

We are heading very quickly now towards March and between the rain showers and rainbows it feels like spring is really on the way. Bright snowdrops can still be enjoyed around the reserve and gardens at The Lodge and daffodils are starting to add a splash of welcome colour. Buds are appearing on the...

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year- from all of us at The Lodge and RSPB Three Counties- thanks for joining us on our community blog this year and hope to see you on our amazing nature reserve in 2014!
If you are popping in to enjoy a walk and to spot some wildlife over the festive...

I managed to get away from my desk and pop outside for a bit this morning and what a lovely day it is. A line of mist was rising through the trees with the sun breaking through behind, and there were birds everywhere. A number of greenfinches have arrived over the last few days and good numbers of chaffinches...

We are still waiting for winter to take a grip and a movement of birds to follow. November has more of an autumnal than a winter feeling, and trees are still glowing golden on sunny days. I was at The Lodge over the weekend, and the main action was from the mistle thrushes and jays playing noisy chasing...

If the forecasters are right, then winter will be arriving overnight and temperatures are going to plummet - with a chance of some snow as well. It certainly hasn't felt like mid-November so far. The good news is that we might get an influx of winter birds, as it's been very quiet over the last...

It's a nice calm and bright day here today, the leaves are glowing golden,wonderful fungi are still on show and it's a great time to come and take a walk.
There hasn't been a great deal of change in the birds on the reserve these last few weeks, probably as it's been so mild. We are...

Some good sightings at The Lodge today in the sunshine; 15 crossbills around the Gatehouse car-park,a report of a waxwing along the drive past the hide, red kite over the old heath and several siskin and lesser redpoll on the feeders. If you can't get along yourself, check http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature...

Some good sightings at The Lodge today in the sunshine; 15 crossbills around the Gatehouse car-park,a report of a waxwing along the drive past the hide, red kite over the old heath and several siskin and lesser redpoll on the feeders. If you can't get along yourself, check http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature...

As you may have noticed, it's quite cold outside... The snow may be on its way out - for now - but will life get any easier for our wildlife?
It's certainly easier for us to see some of our shyer species. There have been several reports of woodcocks being seen around The Lodge in the snow...

We have had a very busy weekend here at The Lodge. Firstly,our warden, Graham Wilton-Jones retired on Friday after 10 years of working at the reserve.Always smiling, friendly and ready to help, he will be greatly missed by us all.Thanks in great part to Graham and his team of volunteers,we now have the...

The number of birds in the mixed flock on Sandy Ridge meadow is building up nicely. I estimated over 500 fieldfares, 200 starlings, 150 redwings, 20 meadow pipits, several mistle thrush and a few goldfinches, all feeding in a large group on the grass this morning.
Although it was fairly quiet on the...

It's hard to believe we are already in February, but its great to know the days are getting a little longer and the birds are starting to sing again.It's a nice, bright calm day here today-even the wind seems to have dropped. The bird feeders near the shop are attracting siskins and redpolls...

It's a grey, damp day here today but there's a lot of action over on Sandy Ridge heath. The volunteers are setting up marquee's, lighting a big fire and getting prepared for today's Christmas bar-b-que.I'll wander over later to grab a burger and a bite.
I'm just heading over...

Do you think we will have any snow and ice in this part of the world this year? Walking around in mild, if fairly grey conditions today, a red admiral fluttered around the Gatehouse gardens, blue and great tits were singing and a great spotted woodpecker was drumming away on a nearby tree- so it certainly...

After a really busy day at The Lodge yesterday, we are lighting the bonfire and preparing for this afternoon's Winter Wonderland walk. It's very mild and quite bright today, so not quite the perfect setting for the winter walk, but I'm sure it will be great;it's already fully booked and...

My 'bogey' bird here at the Lodge is the woodcock.This secretive woodland wading bird skulks in the bracken and is most often seen at dusk when it takes short flights to get to other feeding areas.Yesterday, I went in search of the volunteer work party and as I wandered around in the snow I could...